It will mean the Valero Alamo Bowl locally and the Meineke Car Car Bowl in Houston were not among those to make the cut among 10 semifinalists.

BCS conference commissioners made the decision to look to those who have staged college football’s biggest games to expedite the process. ESPN.com also reported that commissioners felt they needed to move quickly in naming the site for the first game, with a decision forthcoming early next year.

But local hopes have not been dashed for the future. All cities will be available to bid for any upcoming contest in future years — much like the NFL awards sites for the Super Bowl.

The Rose Bowl and Orange Bowl are among the sites that will host the national semifinals on a rotating basis during the 12-season span of the contract, starting with the 2014 seasons.

Other sites will be picked and the Sugar Bowl and Fiesta Bowl will be part of it. In years when they aren’t involved, they still will host a top-caliber bowl game.

San Antonio remains in the mix for the upcoming Champions Bowl, a made-for-television extravaganza created by the Southeastern and Big 12 conferences. The heavy favorites for that game include New Orleans and Arlington, along with Houston and Atlanta.